Galveston 6 String Reviews

First off, I have to qualify this review by saying the bass I received was a factory-second; there's a good chance the factory never intended it for sale. With that in mind, I've had it for a year and done everything to it short of take it on a hell-ride in a demolition derby...I've taken the frets out, restrung it 3 times (I tried restringing it for left handed), once with the nut popped out and put in upside-down, and all with the original strings. This thing just won't go out of tune (well, okay, the high B goes flat after a month or so but still). I experiment with different tunings, play everything from Robert Johnson to Soil; I don't even have a case for it! Rock solid. Also fairly light for a 6 string (I know that the low-end Korean basses and guitars are made with mystery wood), and I don't know if I got a ringer or what, but I'm surprised that this thing takes so much abuse and handles everything I throw at it.

Like I said, this was a factory-second; the body had a crack under one of the tone/pickup knobs; still haven't figured out how they wired this thing but I get decent tone out of it (some Seymour Duncans are on the way), it's currently a pair of single-coils; also, it might sound weird but it doesn't technically appear to have a proper fretboard, like they just stained the top of the neck (I actually filled in some light spots with a permanent marker and not only did it blend perfectly but appears to be more durable!)

For all its faults (and again, my guess is a regular production model wouldn't have these issues), and for being a bargain-Korean bolt-on, it's put together fairly well considering what I've already said about it; haven't had to go anywhere near the truss-rod cover yet, and only minor intonation work needed to be done when I first got it and that was more to adjust for my style of playing than anything else. It's certainly not made out of a high-dollar wood so lose the wallet-chain before strapping it on and watch out for mic-stands on smaller stages.

Galveston, Venson, Dean, Carlo Robelli (Sam Ash's house-brand), and a few others I can't think of at the moment...Sungbo makes low-end guitars and basses for all of them. I might just hit them up for an endorsement if I ever make it big. I'll be buying one of their 12 string basses shortly. If this bass is half as good as the ones that they retail then their top shelf stuff must be phenomenal; the only thing keeping anyone from getting one will be personal playing style. If nothing else, give one a try before dropping a grand on something else just so you know for sure.